State News

YELLOWSTONE SNOWMOBILES
Snowmobilers hit Yellowstone winter plan
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) – Snowmobile operators and advocates say the
latest proposed winter use plan in Yellowstone National Park would
be cumbersome for business and expensive for visitors.The National Park Service took comments about its proposal at a
meeting Thursday in Jackson.
The plan would vary the number of snowmobiles between 110 and
330 daily, and the number of snow coaches between 30 and 80 daily,
over the course of Yellowstone’s winter season. Park Service
officials said the changing numbers would provide a mixture of
visitor experiences and quiet.
Snowmobile operators said the plan lacks the consistency needed
to run a successful business.
Environmental group representatives at the meeting did not make

verbal comments.
The Park Service is accepting comments through July 18.

UTILITY RATES
Rocky Mountain Power rate hike draws opposition
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) – A proposed $80 million rate hike by Rocky
Mountain Power in Wyoming is drawing strong opposition from its
customers.
At a Public Service Commission hearing Thursday in Casper, state
regulators heard from a number of people who spoke against the
proposal.
Many said they feared the proposed hike will particularly affect
those with fixed incomes, such as Social Security or Medicare
beneficiaries.
Others complained the company didn’t deserve any rate hike until
it solved outages and customer service problems.
Rocky Mountain Power officials say the increase is needed to
build up resources, particularly to keep up with Wyoming’s booming
electrical demand.
The Public Service Commission will hold another public hearing

on the rate hike request June 20 in Cheyenne.

GRAND TETON GRIZZLIES
Grand Teton: Keep away from griz traps
MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) – Grand Teton National Park officials are
urging people to keep away from areas where biologists are trapping
grizzly bears.
Every summer, biologists with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study
Team trap and study grizzly bears throughout the Greater
Yellowstone Ecosystem. The researchers close off and post warning
signs at major access points where they set their traps.
Park officials say people shouldn’t venture into areas posted
with warning signs.
Grizzly bear trapping is scheduled to begin in Grand Teton on
Wednesday and continue through the end of July.

PARK AIRPORT
Jackson Hole Airport gets new lease
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) – Jackson Hole Airport and Grand Teton
National Park officials have signed a lease that allows the airport
to remain in the park until 2053.
The agreement commits airport officials to making continual
improvements to reduce the airport’s impacts, such as noise and
light pollution.
Park Service and Jackson Hole Airport Board officials signed the
agreement last month.
Airport board president Clay James says that the Park Service and the